What does "Digital camera has 10x optical and 4x digital zoom" mean to the camera user?

Question

Is that ENOUGH camera for me? I would like to do close ups.

It's a Canon PowerShot SX100 IS Digital Camera.

How good is that camera?

Answer 1

The optical zoom works well for when you want to enlarge a picture. The digital zoom doesn't seem to enlarge as well. It pixulates the picture and it becomes blury. A 10x optical is pretty good. Mine is only 3 and does a nice job for my use.

Answer 2

Optical zoom is the magnification you get by moving the lens.  Digital zoom is where it takes the picture and zooms in on it electronically, like the zoom when you look at a picture on your computer.